U.S. patent number 7,029,575 [Application Number 10/070,781] was granted by the patent office on 2006-04-18 for filter with a valve combination component.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hengst GmbH & Co. KG. Invention is credited to Wilhelm Ardes, Dieter Baumann.
United States Patent |
7,029,575 |
Baumann , et al. |
April 18, 2006 |
Filter with a valve combination component
Abstract
The invention relates to a filter, such as an oil filter for a
combustion engine. The inventive filter includes a filter housing
and a valve, such as a non-return valve, a filter bypassing valve
or a drain valve, that is arranged in the filter housing. According
to the invention, the valve body of said valve is arranged at a
combination component which is provided with a connector for
connecting at least one additional filter component, such as an
additional valve or a filter inset, to the combination
component.
Inventors: |
Baumann; Dieter (Greven,
DE), Ardes; Wilhelm (Ascheberg, DE) |
Assignee: |
Hengst GmbH & Co. KG
(DE)
|
Family
ID: |
8078664 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/070,781 |
Filed: |
September 8, 2000 |
PCT
Filed: |
September 08, 2000 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/DE00/03125 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
August 27, 2002 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO01/17658 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
March 15, 2001 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 9, 1999 [DE] |
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299 15 844 U |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
210/130; 210/440;
210/430; 210/136 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01D
29/21 (20130101); B01D 35/147 (20130101); B01D
29/96 (20130101); F01M 11/03 (20130101); B01D
35/153 (20130101); B01D 35/16 (20130101); B01D
2201/0415 (20130101); B01D 2201/162 (20130101); B01D
2201/305 (20130101); F01M 2001/1092 (20130101); B01D
2201/4084 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B01D
27/08 (20060101); B01D 27/10 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;137/512-513
;210/130,131,136,133,429,440,430 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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4131353 |
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Oct 1992 |
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DE |
|
4140140 |
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Jun 1993 |
|
DE |
|
4201041 |
|
Jul 1993 |
|
DE |
|
4240656 |
|
Jul 1993 |
|
DE |
|
4214500 |
|
Nov 1993 |
|
DE |
|
4243217 |
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Jun 1994 |
|
DE |
|
4303694 |
|
Aug 1994 |
|
DE |
|
9411212 |
|
Oct 1994 |
|
DE |
|
4446263 |
|
Jun 1996 |
|
DE |
|
4446263 |
|
Jun 1996 |
|
DE |
|
29610290 |
|
Oct 1996 |
|
DE |
|
19539918 |
|
Feb 1997 |
|
DE |
|
29915844 |
|
Mar 2001 |
|
DE |
|
492627 |
|
Jul 1992 |
|
EP |
|
692292 |
|
Jan 1996 |
|
EP |
|
2279725 |
|
Jan 1995 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Cecil; Terry K.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lahive & Cockfield, LLP
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A filter, comprising: a filter housing having a filter base; a
filter insert located in the filter housing; a valve located in the
filter housing, the valve having a valve body and a valve seat,
wherein the valve seat is formed by the filter base; a combination
component removably positioned within said housing between the
filter insert and the filter base; a support dome positioned
internally of and supporting the filter insert; and a filter bypass
valve disposed within the filter support dome for enabling bypass
of the filter; wherein the valve body is located within the
combination component, and the combination component has a
connector connecting at least one additional filter component to
the combination component, wherein the at least one additional
filter component comprises the support dome.
2. The filter according to claim 1, wherein the combination
component has a base plate on which the valve body is elastically
supported by a spring, the valve seat associated with the valve
body being disposed separately from the combination component.
3. The filter according to claim 2, wherein the base plate has an
opening to which a tubular sleeve is connected, which tubular
sleeve forms the valve body for one of a drain valve and the filter
bypass valve.
4. The filter according to claim 3, wherein the tubular sleeve is
designed as a component which is separate from the base plate.
5. The filter according to claim 1, wherein the combination
component has a connector to which the filter insert is detachably
attached or attachable.
Description
The invention relates to a filter such as an oil filter for an
internal combustion engine. Such filters are familiar from
DE-U-296,10,290 or from practice, for example, as oil filters for
internal combustion engines in the automobile industry. The filter
in DE-U-296,10,290 has a drain valve and a check valve which must
be installed separately in the filter housing. A filter which was
disclosed in EP-A1-692,292 has a check valve which is molded in
along with a hollow mounting screw.
Here the check valve is opened by the pressure built up by the
engine when the oil enters the filter. When the engine is off and
the oil pressure has dropped, the check valve closes, thereby
retaining a minimum quantity of oil within the filter.
A filter bypass valve may be provided, for example, to ensure a
kind of short-circuit operation of the filter in the event that the
filter medium is heavily contaminated or is too viscous. In this
case, given a predetermined overpressure on the unfiltered-oil side
of the filter, the filter bypass valve opens, thereby creating a
passage to the filter outlet which is provided for the filtered
oil.
In addition, a drain valve may be provided which opens in response
to the motion of the cover and filter insert when the filter is
opened to change the filter insert, the purpose being to allow the
oil retained inside the filter housing to be drained. This feature
allows for essentially contamination-free removal of the filter
insert.
The goal of the invention is to improve a filter according to the
species so that it can be fabricated as inexpensively as possible
and, especially, to be installed very quickly.
This goal of the invention is achieved by a filter with the
features of a filter housing having a valve located in the filter
housing, such as a check valve. A filter bypass valve, or a drain
valve, is also provided. The valve body of the bypass or drain
valve is located in a combination component. The combination
component has a connector for connecting at least one additional
filter component, such as an additional valve or a filter insert,
to the combination component.
The invention proposes, in other words, incorporating multiple
valve functions supplementary to the basic valve function in one
combination component, for example, multiple valve functions. This
approach, which uses prefabricated modules, enables quick
installation of the filter. Specifically, when parts of the filter
such as the filter base are provided on the engine housing in
integrally-cast, single-piece form, the assembly or completion for
final fabrication of the filter is performed in the automobile
plant. In place of fully automated fabrication of a complete filter
by the filter manufacturer, production is partially transferred to
the automobile manufacturer--with the result that considerable
simplification of the assembly process, and thus a more
cost-effective production process, may be achieved by the reduction
in the number of components to be assembled.
In addition to the normally provided first valve, for example the
check valve, the combination component may have either the bypass
valve or the drain valve, or both if required, such that complete
valves may be provided which each have the movable valve body as
well as the sealing surface designated as the valve seat associated
with the valve body.
An alternative approach may be to wait until final assembly of the
filter to create a functional filter. This approach permits
especially simple pre-assembly of the combination component since
said component accommodates the valve bodies in such a way that
they do not yet rest on the valve seats and are thus very easily
accessible and may therefore accordingly be simply and quickly
installed. The associated valve seats may, on the other hand, be
formed, for example, by the filter housing or filter base, or by
the filter insert.
As an alternative to an arrangement with one or more additional
valves, the combination component may be connected or connectable
to other components of the filter to enable rapid assembly through
highly integrated modules. For example, the combination component
may be connected to a filter insert or to a conventional support
dome for the filter insert. The filter insert must often, depending
on filter type, be installed in the automobile plant in any event
so that the now possible simultaneous installation of one or
multiple valves enables steps in the work process to be
eliminated.
In the case of a component connected to the filter insert subject
to regular replacement, the filter insert may advantageously be
connected in a detachable manner to the combination component, for
example, through a weakly retaining clip or snap-on connection, so
that both may be installed together as a single module. The
combination component may, however, then remain in the filter as a
filter-fixed permanent component, in an environmentally benign and
economical manner, to be readily detached from the filter insert
when the filter insert is changed.
The following discussion uses the drawings to explain embodiments
of the invention relating to filter types having a decentralized
oil drain.
FIGS. 1a 1d show a first embodiment, with FIGS. 1a 1c showing the
entire filter at various stages of operation and FIG. 1d showing
the combination component alone.
FIGS. 2 and 3 each show another embodiment.
FIGS. 4a 4b show another embodiment, also at various stages of
operation.
FIG. 1a shows a filter 1, an oil filter for an internal combustion
engine, at the stage with the engine turned off. Filter 1 has a
filter housing 2 and a cover 3, as well as a replaceable filter
insert 4. Filter insert 4 encloses an internal cavity 5 in which a
support dome 6 is located to prevent collapse of the filter
material of filter insert 4 under the pressure and temperature
conditions prevailing in the oil filter.
Support dome 6 holds a valve body 7 of a filter bypass valve 8.
When the pressure outside filter insert 4 is high, valve body 7 is
pressed downward, thereby opening a flow passage between valve body
7 and its associated valve seat which is formed by a collar 9 which
is in turn formed by an upper end plate 10 of filter insert 4.
Additional valves of filter 1 are provided in the form of two
essentially identically shaped valves which each have a valve body
12 in the form of a lamella and which function as check valve 11
and drain valve 22. Valve bodies 12 are each supported by a
compression spring against base plate 14 of a combination component
15, the details of which are shown in FIG. 1d:
Holders 16 for check valve 11 and drain valve 22 are provided on
base plate 14, against which holders valve bodies 12 are pressed by
springs 17. This feature ensures that valve bodies 12 are
permanently held in combination component 15 so that combination
component 15 is pre-assembled and ready for shipping and assembly
of combination component 15 is facilitated upon insertion into
filter housing 2.
In addition, combination component 15 has a tubular sleeve 18.
Tubular sleeve 18 supports a seal 19 made, for example, of an
elastomer, and a retaining ring 20 made, for example, of metal
which is located in an undercut of elastic retaining claws 21. Due
to its expansion force, retaining ring 20 is able hold tubular
sleeve 18 within the filter base without any undercuts being
necessary, with the result that expensive further working of the
filter base to accommodate retaining claws 21 is not required.
FIG. 1b shows the normal operating configuration for filter 1.
Here, valve 12 of check valve 11 has been lifted by oil which has
entered filter 1 through an inlet 23. Filtered oil passes through
outlet 31 to the lubricating points. Drain valve 22, on the other
hand, is closed since its valve body 12 rests on the associated
valve seat formed by filter housing 2 preventing any oil from
passing from the filter interior above combination component 15
into drain passage 32.
FIG. 1c shows the operating configuration during the "filter
change" in which only filter insert 4 is changed, not the complete
filter 1. It is evident here that cover 3 has been lifted from
filter housing 2.
Tubular sleeve 18 of combination component 15 is clipped on to
support dome 6, support dome 6 extending, by means of several
retaining claws 24, behind a collar 25 provided on tubular sleeve
18. Tubular sleeve 18, and therefore the entire combination
component 15, is thus lifted along with cover 3 relative to filter
housing 2, for example by a clamping fit of filter insert 4 on
support dome 6 due to the sealing interconnection of these
components, or by the action of a spring 27.
Retaining ring 20 limits the upward travel of combination component
15, either by its clamping action alone or with the aid of a
circumferential groove which is provided in filter housing 2 and
which secures a fixed-height position of retaining ring 20 in
filter housing 2. As FIG. 1c shows, in this raised position of
combination component 15, valve body 12 of drain valve 22 has been
lifted off its associated valve seat, allowing residual oil to
enter drain passage 26 from internal cavity 5, and from entire
filter housing 2. The thread length between cover 3 and filter
housing 2 here allows for complete drainage of this residual oil
such that, when filter insert 4 is removed from filter housing 2,
the residual oil has dripped off filter insert 4 leaving
essentially no residue.
FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment in which check valve 11 and drain
valve 22 have, unlike the first embodiment, different valve bodies
12, these valve bodies 12 being of similar or identical design to
valve body 7 of the filter bypass valve. In this embodiment,
combination component 15 forms both base plate 14 and support dome
6, so that, with the installation simply of this one module,
namely, that of combination component 15, all valve functions are
installed in filter 1. The especially simple fabrication and
installation of combination component 15 is also facilitated in
this embodiment by the fact that the valve seats associated with
valve bodies 7 or 12 are not provided in this combination component
15 but are provided in the housing or in filter insert 4.
The embodiment in FIG. 3 shows a combination component 15 of
similar design to the embodiment in FIG. 2, however, one which,
like the embodiment in FIG. 1 is fabricated separately from support
dome 6 and is subsequently simply connected to support dome 6 in
the manner familiar from FIG. 1. This embodiment has the especially
cost-effective feature of being adaptable to filters of different
dimensions by using different support domes 6. In an especially
simple manner, the use of filter inserts 4 of differing heights
allows for adaptation to the filter surface specifically required,
while always permitting the use of identical filter housings 2,
meaning that only covers 3 must be of different heights.
FIGS. 4a and 4b show an embodiment in which tubular sleeve 18 is
designed as a separate component of combination component 15, this
design allowing for simple adaptation to the specific outlet of
different filter types using a standardized base plate 14. This
tubular sleeve 18 of FIGS. 4a and 4b is not held by a retaining
ring 18 in filter housing 2. In addition, tubular sleeve 18 also
forms, in this embodiment, the movable valve body of the filter
bypass valve which is provided, in this embodiment, below filter
insert 4.
FIG. 4a shows filter 1 in the operating configuration with the
engine off. Both check valve 11 and drain valve 22 are closed.
Tubular sleeve 18 is pressed by the action of spring 27 against
base plate 14 of combination component 15.
FIG. 4b, on the other hand, shows the operational configuration in
which the engine is running and a specific oil pressure has built
up. For example, during a cold start the oil pressure may reach a
level due to the high oil viscosity at which the filter bypass
valve opens. First the oil passes through inlet 23 to valve body 12
of check valve 11 and opens this valve. The oil continues to flow
and disperses in the internal cavity of filter housing 2 around
filter insert 4. Due to its high viscosity, the oil does not flow
quickly enough into internal cavity 5--with the result that an
overpressure develops outside filter insert 4 within filter 1,
which pressure ultimately presses on a flange plate 28 of tubular
sleeve 18 so that tubular sleeve 18 is pressed downward against the
action of spring 27. Multiple windows 29 are provided between
retaining claws 30 by which tubular sleeve 18 is connected to base
plate 14. The oil now passes through these windows directly into
outlet 31 which is intended for the filtered oil. In this
embodiment, filter bypass valve 8 is thus formed by tubular sleeve
18 and base plate 14 so that, in this embodiment as well, all valve
functions are carried out in combination component 15.
The embodiments presented relate exclusively to filter types in
which the drain is located decentrally in the manner of drain
passage 32, i.e., running radially outside the outlet, for example,
axially parallel. Other known filters exist which have a so-called
central drain. Here the oil first flows through a separate flow
channel provided within the outlet opening which runs, for example,
coaxially around the actual outlet channel separated by a
partition, and which then branches off from the outlet. Filters of
this type with a central outlet may also be advantageously designed
according to the invention.
* * * * *